The present invention relates to safety devices for monitoring the position of barges, rail cars, containers or other vehicles moving through a port or rail yard and that can radio position and/or oxygen levels to appropriate personnel.
It is common for large numbers of vehicles or vessels to be parked, moored, etc. in an area where they are not carefully monitored. For example, many barges are moored in the Mississippi River in a raft such as, for example, several barges wide and as much as a quarter of a mile long. During the night, these barges can become dislodged from their mooring creating a hazard to navigation.
Many of these barges carry hazardous cargo that can leak creating a health hazard for persons in the immediate area should leaks occur.
Many patents have issued that are directed to monitoring the position of a mobile unit as noted in the following table:
TABLE 1U.S. Pat. No.TITLEISSUE DATE6,055,426Notification of a MobileApr. 25, 2000Unit Out of Coverage6,269,763Autonomous Marine VehicleAug. 7, 20016,295,449Data Messaging in aSep. 25, 2001Communications NetworkUsing a Feature Request6,301,545Global Positioning SystemOct. 9, 2001Tag System6,427,127Vibrating Conduit ProcessJul. 30, 2002Parameter Sensors, OperatingMethods and Computer ProgramProducts Utilizing ComplexModal Estimation6,499,476Vapor Pressure DeterminationDec. 31, 2002Using Galvanic Oxygen Meter6,522,301Above Deck Unit for AutomaticFeb. 18, 2003Identification System6,542,076Control, Monitoring and/orApr. 1, 2003Security Apparatus and MethodEach of the above referenced patents are incorporated herein by reference.
While certain novel features of this invention shown and described below are pointed out in the annexed claims, the invention is not intended to be limited to the details specified, since a person of ordinary skill in the relevant art will understand that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention. No feature of the invention is critical or essential unless it is expressly stated as being “critical” or “essential.”